KINSLOE HOUSE: THE CONSTITUTION AND THE SILENCE

Read Time:2 Minute, 1 Second

By Emilie Parten, Reporter on the Rove

Colonel Jennifer Baird Fiederer has a unique relationship with the U.S Constitution. The mother of four is local to Navarro County and has served in the U.S Air Force, graduating pilot training in 2000, a mere eight months before 9/11 changed everything. She joined a squadron with a unique mission, refueling AC130 gunships in flight or what is better known as S.O.A.R, “Special Operations Air Refueling”. She took part in Operation Mobile Eagle, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and, most notably, Operation Anaconda.

Operation Anaconda saw the lost of Petty Officer First Class Neil C. Roberts, who had fallen out of his aircraft after it took RPG fire. The operations attempting to get the soldier back were extensive. It is unclear if the fall killed Roberts or if enemy soldiers did, all that is known is that the soldier never came home. Colonel Fiederer could not keep her composure when discussing Roberts or the other lives lost in Operation Anaconda. “I can take the gunfire,” the Colonel stated in her program, “I can take the yelling, I can take the nine lines. When no one is on the other end to answer that radio, and there is silence… It is deafening.”
She stresses the importance of reading the document you have sworn to defend against all enemies and she gives signed copies to each of her subordinates as a gift. She is the deputy commander of the 349th Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base and became an advocate for the Airline Pilots Association working on aviation safety.
It is the pivotal moments that change us. We have voices that are meant to be heard and nothing changes if we do not advocate for that change. It is because of the people before us that we have what we have today and it is because of us that the people after us, our children, will have what they have. Use your voices. Advocate for yourself and your fellows.
Colonel Fiederer said toward the end of her program, “It is when people become apathetic and stop engaging that we should fear. It is the silence.”
This program was held at the Kinsloe House. Their upcoming program, “How to Avoid Scams at Home and in the Workplace” will be at noon on October 9th. Contact the Kinsloe House for more information!